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“Are you going to eat?”
“What?” I asked as I looked over to Tripp.
“Your food, Lee. You’re just pushing it around with your fork. You need to eat.”
After taking a few bites, I set my fork down.
“What if he takes it away from me?”
“He won’t.”
I shook my head. “How can you say that? It’s a possibility.”
Tripp leaned back and gave me a hard look. “It is a possibility, yes. But if you give up before you even try, then why even bother? Where is the fight in you? This is something you have dreamed about and although we haven’t seen each other in almost ten years, I know damn well that fight is still in you. You’re not a quitter.”
Warmth spread through my entire body. He was right. I was going to fight—with Tripp by my side. I could feel it deep in my soul.
“You’re right. I’m going to win this.”
For a brief moment, staring at Tripp across the table, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to win more—the legal mess I was in or the battle for Tripp’s love.
He reached his hand across the table and I set mine in it. The instant rush of tingles sweeping through my entire body almost had me gasping out loud, but I somehow managed to keep the sound back. I could have sworn Tripp reacted the same way, judging by the way his body shuddered.
“We’re going to win this.”
We smiled at one another as my heart raced. Tripp squeezed my hand three times before letting it go and motioning with his fork.
“Eat up. The meatloaf is damn good.”
I had to bite the inside of my lip to keep my emotions from getting to me. It was becoming clearer with each passing day that Tripp Parker had indeed slipped through my fingers. I was going to have to be happy with simply being friends. Now I just had to convince my heart of that.
I picked up my fork and forced myself to eat.
This was going to be a long, hard road to navigate.
The knock on my office door had me standing up. My heart was racing and my damn hands were sweating.
Christ Almighty. Get it together, Parker.
“Come in.”
When my mother walked in, my entire body sagged.
“Clearly you were hoping for someone else.”
I rounded my desk and walked to her. Extending my arms, I pulled her in for a hug.
“Nonsense. I love seeing you anytime, anywhere.”
She gave me that look that said she wasn’t buying my bullshit. “Who were you expecting?” she asked with a sly grin.
“A client.”
One brow raised. “It’s a small town, son, and you’re the talk of it currently, courtesy of the ‘prayer chain’. I’m going to guess you were expecting Harley. The mediation is today, correct?”
A chuckle slipped from my lips. “I thought you didn’t get into all the town gossip, Mom.”
With an evil look, she replied, “I don’t participate in it, son.” She shrugged. “At least, not all the time. That doesn’t mean I don’t like to hear it.”
“You’re impossible. I don’t suppose you had anything to do with the whole damn town finding out about the real reason Harley left?”
She wore a fake surprised expression. “You mean the made-up boyfriend story because she loved you so much she didn’t want to take you away from Oak Springs? That real story?”
Now it was my turn to give her a surprised look…but mine wasn’t fake. “Wow. You really kicked up the story there, Mom.”
She gave me a wink. “I try.”
I shook my head. “You do remember Mallory, right?”
“She’s a very nice girl, but Tripp, even I can see the two of you are not serious. Unless you’ve talked about a future together?”
“No, not really. But I do care about her and Laney.”
She smiled. “I know you do. But do you love her?”
I was frozen by those five words. Did I love Mallory? Did she love me? I enjoyed spending time with her, but did I see a future with her?
“I care about her. We’ve only been dating since December.”
“Uh-huh. Well, I’m not here to talk about Mallory or Harley. I’m here on other urgent business.”
Motioning for her to sit down in a chair, I leaned against my desk.
“Is everything okay?”
“Oh, yes, everything with me is fine. It’s your brother, Trevor.”
I jerked my head back. “Trevor?”
Her lips pursed in a hard line, and she got a fiery look in her eyes. Oh, hell. My mother was on a mission and my poor baby brother was part of it. Unbeknownst to him, I was sure.
“The spring fling is this weekend, right? Well, that means my annual benefit dinner is the next evening and everyone is going to be there.”
“Yes,” I replied with a slight grin. I had a feeling I knew where this was going. After a hard day of work on the ranch, my parents always hosted a dinner party the next night. It was a benefit dinner and the one time of year my father let my mother go crazy with party planning. It was a black tie event and cost a few hundred dollars to attend, but one hundred percent of the money collected went to the American Cancer Society. My mother’s parents both died from cancer so it was a cause very close to her heart.
